Internet Protocol (IP)

• a simple protocol for attempting to send data between two computers

• each device has a 32-bit IP address written as four 8-bit numbers (0-255)

• find out your internet IP address: whatismyip.com

• find out your local IP address:
 in a terminal, type: ipconfig (Windows) or ifconfig (Mac/Linux)

Transmission Control Protocol (TCP)

• adds multiplexing, guaranteed message delivery on top of IP
• multiplexing: multiple programs using the same IP address
 port: a number given to each program or service
 port 80: web browser (port 443 for secure browsing)
 port 25: email
 port 22: ssh
 port 5190: AOL Instant Messenger
 more common ports

• some programs (games, streaming media programs) use simpler UDP protocol
instead of TCP

THE WORLD WIDE WEB (WWW)

The World Wide Web (WWW) is a system of interlinked hypertext documents and
multimedia resources accessed via the Internet. It was invented by Tim Berners-Lee in
1989 and revolutionized the way information is shared and accessed globally. The WWW
operates on a client-server model, uses a unique addressing system (URLs and DNS), relies
on specific protocols like HTTP, and utilizes various programming languages for content
creation and interaction.
A. Clients and Servers
• Client:
o A client is a device (e.g., computer, smartphone) or software (e.g., web
browser) that sends requests to a web server to access resources or data
on the web.
o Examples of client software include web browsers like Google Chrome,
Mozilla Firefox, Safari, Opera, and Microsoft Edge.
o The client displays the content after receiving it from the server, allowing
the user to interact with the web page.
• Server:
o A server is a powerful computer or program that hosts websites and stores
their data, such as web pages, images, videos, and applications.
o Servers listen to client’s requests and respond by sending the requested
resources.
o Examples of web servers include Apache, Nginx, and Microsoft IIS.
• Client-Server Interaction:
o When you type a URL in a web browser, the browser (client) sends a
request to the server hosting the website.
o The server processes the request and sends back the content, such as an
HTML page, which the browser renders for the user.

B. URLs and DNS

• URL (Uniform Resource Locator):
o An identifier for the location of a document on a website.
o A URL is the unique address of a resource on the web, such as a web page,
image, or file.
o a basic URL:
http://www.aw-bc.com/info/regesstepp/index.html
~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
protocol host path
o upon entering this URL into the browser, it would:
▪ ask the DNS server for the IP address of www.aw-bc.com
▪ connect to that IP address at port 80
▪ ask the server to GET /info/regesstepp/index.html
▪ display the resulting page on the screen
o It has several components:
1. Protocol:
Specifies how data is transferred (e.g., http:// or https://).
2. Domain Name:
Identifies the website (e.g., www.google.com).
3. Path:
Specifies the location of the resource within the website (e.g., /search).
 4. Query Parameters:
Provide additional data to the server (e.g., ?q=search_term).

• More advanced URLs

o Anchor: jumps to a given section of a web page
http://www.textpad.com/download/index.html#downloads
▪ fetches index.html then jumps down to the part of the page labeled
downloads
o Port: for web servers on ports other than the default 80
http://www.cs.washington.edu:8080/secret/money.txt
o Query string: a set of parameters passed to a web program
http://www.google.com/search?q=miserable+failure&start=10
▪ parameter q is set to "miserable+failure"
▪ parameter start is set to 10

• DNS (Domain Name System):

o a set of servers that map written names to IP addresses
▪ Example: www.cs.washington.edu → 128.208.3.88
o The DNS is like a phonebook for the internet. It translates human-readable
domain names
▪ Example www.google.com) into IP addresses (e.g.,
142.250.182.46) that computers use to identify each other on the
network.
o many systems maintain a local cache called a host file
▪ Windows: C:\Windows\system32\drivers\etc\hosts
▪ Mac: /private/etc/hosts
▪ Linux: /etc/hosts
o Without DNS, users should have to remember numeric IP addresses
instead of easy-to-read domain names.

C. Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP)

• What is HTTP?
o HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol) is the protocol used to transfer data
over the World Wide Web. It defines the rules for communication between
clients and servers. It is the set of commands understood by a web server
and sent from a browser.
o HTTP operates on a request-response model:
▪ The client sends an HTTP request (e.g., GET, POST).
▪ HTTP methods or commands (your browser sends these
internally):
▪ GET filename : download (Requests data from the
server; e.g., retrieving a web page).
▪ POST filename: send a web form response
(Submits data to the server; e.g., submitting a form).
 ▪ PUT filename: upload (Updates a resource on the
server.)
▪ DELETE filename: remove (Delete a resource on
the server.)
▪ The server responds with the requested data, typically an HTML
page or other content.
▪ simulating a browser with a terminal window:
$ telnet www.cs.washington.edu 80
Trying 128.208.3.88...
Connected to 128.208.3.88 (128.208.3.88).
Escape character is '^]'.
GET /index.html
<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 ...">
<html>
...
o HTTP error codes
▪ when something goes wrong, the web server returns a special
"error code" number to the browser, possibly followed by an HTML
document
• common error codes:
Number Meaning

200 OK

301-303 page has moved (permanently or temporarily)

403 you are forbidden to access this page

404 page not found

500 internal server error

complete list

▪
 • HTTP vs. HTTPS:
o HTTPS (Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure) is a secure version of HTTP
that encrypts data between the client and server using SSL/TLS.
o HTTPS ensures data confidentiality, integrity, and authentication, making
it essential for secure transactions like online banking and shopping.

• Internet media ("MIME") types

o sometimes when including resources in a page (style sheet, icon,
multimedia object), we specify their type of data.

o
MIME-type
file extension

text/html .html

text/plain .txt

image/gif .gif

image/jpeg .jpg

video/quicktime .mov

application/octet-stream .exe

o Lists of MIME types: by type, by extension

D. Languages of the Web

The World Wide Web uses programming and markup languages to create and display
web content.

These languages fall into different categories:

1. Markup Languages:
o HTML (HyperText Markup Language):
▪ The foundational language of the web, used to structure content on web
pages.
▪ Defines elements like headings, paragraphs, links, images, etc.
▪ Example:
html
Copy code
<h1>Welcome to the Web</h1>
<p>This is a paragraph.</p>
 o XML (eXtensible Markup Language):
▪ A flexible markup language used for data storage and transport.
▪ Unlike HTML, XML focuses on data representation rather than display.

2. Styling Languages:
o CSS (Cascading Style Sheets):
▪ Defines the presentation and layout of web pages, including colors,
fonts, spacing, and responsiveness.
▪ Example:
css
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h1 {
color: blue;
font-size: 24px;
}

3. Programming Languages:
o JavaScript:
▪ A scripting language that adds interactivity and dynamic behavior to
web pages (e.g., form validation, animations, interactive maps).
▪ Example:
javascript
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document.getElementById("btn").onclick = function() {
alert("Button clicked!");
};
o Python:
▪ Often used for server-side development (e.g., web frameworks like
Django and Flask).
o PHP:
▪ A server-side scripting language for creating dynamic web pages
and handling backend tasks like database operations.

4. Database Query Languages:

o SQL (Structured Query Language):
▪ Used to interact with databases, such as retrieving, updating, or
deleting data.

5. Framework-Specific Languages:
o Frameworks like React (JavaScript), Angular (TypeScript), and Ruby on
Rails (Ruby) are used for building advanced and scalable web applications.
The World Wide Web is a sophisticated ecosystem where clients and servers communicate
using protocols like HTTP, resources are located using URLs and DNS, and content is created
using languages like HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. Understanding these concepts is crucial for
effectively navigating, using, and building on the web.